North Korea ended 2005 with a tenuous agreement, forged in September, to end its nuclear-weapons program. It had spent much of the year in negotiations in Beijing, where meetings were held involving six countries—North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States. Though the talks were dominated by North Korea and the United States, South Korea and China played positive roles in the process.

South Korea announced in July and reaffirmed in September that it would provide electrical energy to North Korea. It was hoped that this provision might lessen demands by North Korea that South Korea, the United States, and Japan pay for building a new nuclear-generating light-water reactor to replace the heavy-water reactors that had been at the centre of the controversy for several years. Heavy-water reactors could easily produce radioactive material that could be used in making nuclear weapons.

The greatest breakthrough in the difficult nuclear disarmament talks came when on September 19 North Korea announced that it would abandon its nuclear-weapons program. Within days of the announcement, however, Pyongyang stated that prior to relinquishing its program, it wanted the civilian light-water reactor to be built. When the six-party talks resumed in November, at the top of the agenda was the clarification of the July agreement. Although progress was made, the finer points of agreement and implementation would continue to take time and further negotiations.

Progress between North Korea and South Korea, however, was substantial. Exchanges of visitors increased at all levels. Government delegations at the ministerial level made visits to each other’s capitals; sporting events took place (marathons for unification in which runners from both Seoul and Pyongyang participated); and reunions were held in August and November that brought together family members who had been separated. In addition, the special tourist zone in the Diamond Mountains, just north of the border between the two countries, celebrated the arrival of its one millionth visitor from South Korea. In November the two countries agreed in principle to have their athletes compete as a unified team at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Periodically, refugees who had fled North Korea and hidden in China would make their way to safety in South Korea. There were an estimated 200,000 North Korean escapees hiding in China.

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